The city is named in the honor of Baba Farid, a revered 13th century Sufi saint whose shrine is located in Pakpattan, Pakistan.

The town of Faridkot was founded during this century as Mokalhar by Raja Mokalsi, the grandson of Rai Munj, a Bhatti Chief of Bhatnair, Rajasthan.

According to a popular folklore, the Raja renamed Mokalhar to Faridkot after Baba Farid paid a visit to the town.

However, the foundation of the modern city as a princely state was laid in 1763 by Hamir Singh.

The city continued as the capital of Faridkot State under British suzerainty till 1947.

Uma Grover is the current President of the council and Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon of Indian National Congress is the member of Legislative Assembly from the town elected in 2017.

Faridkot railway station, located in the city lies on Bhatinda - Firozpur line.

[14] The climate of Faridkot is mostly dry, characterized by a very hot summer, a short rainy season and a bracing winter.

With the onset of the monsoon by the end of June or early July, there is an appreciable drop in the day temperature.

After October, both the day and night temperatures decrease rapidly till January which is the coolest month.

Wind speed is normally slow and flows in north to northwest, some times in southeast direction, throughout the year.

Every year, a festival is held to commemorate the arrival of Baba Farid in Faridkot.